In the vast Chinese culture, idioms are one of the shining pearls.
They are concise and philosophical, and carry a rich history and cultural connotation.
Today, what we want to ** is an idiom related to zodiac animals - "a cloth with water".
The idiom "a cloth with water" comes from the Tang Dynasty *** and Li Yanshou's "Southern History: Chen Jixia".
It was originally used to describe a river as narrow as a belt, and then gradually evolved to describe a close area, although there are rivers, lakes and seas separated by a belt.
The structure of this idiom is more formal, and it can be used as a predicate, a definite, and an object in a sentence, with a positive meaning.
So, what does the idiom "a strip of water have" have to do with zodiac animals?Let's unravel this mystery from a historical and cultural perspective.
First of all, we need to understand that the idiom "a strip of water" does not directly refer to a certain zodiac animal.
It is used to describe the relative proximity between two places or countries that is not enough to be an obstacle to interaction.
This sense of distance includes both geographical proximity and psychological proximity.
Therefore, we can think of "a strip of water" as a symbol, representing the close connection between people and between countries.
Next, we can try to interpret "a strip of water" from the perspective of the zodiac animal.
Among the 12 zodiac signs, the eight zodiac signs of dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig are all closely associated with water.
Dragons are the kings of the water, snakes swim in the water, horses ride the waves, sheep drink the water of the river, monkeys like to play in the water, chickens forage in the water, dogs swim in the water, and pigs bathe in the water.
The relationship between these zodiac animals and water just interprets the connotation of "a cloth with water".
In this sense, we can associate "a strip of water" with the zodiac animal.
It symbolizes the close relationship between the zodiac animal and the water, as well as the close connection between people and countries.
This connection includes both geographical proximity and psychological proximity.
As the idiom describes, although there are rivers, lakes and seas separated by each other, the distance is not far enough to become an obstacle to communication.